Panel Oks Va. Beach, Rules For Scallopers

Also Reduces Fishing Days

Still Needs Fed Approval

A fishery management council passed new rules this week that will affect the local scallop industry, which represents about 40 percent of the East Coast's scallop business.

The New England Fisheries Management Council, which has jurisdiction over a commercial fishing area that stretches from Maine to North Carolina, voted to open an area off Virginia Beach that was once closed to scallop harvesting.

The Council also established a new closed area off Maryland and Delaware, reduced the number of open-area fishing days and changed a gear regulation. The new rules will go into effect in March, if approved by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce.

Scallop gear has a large metal bale attached to a bag made up of rings and links between the rings. The minimum size of the rings, which catch the scallop shells, will be increased from 31/2 inches to 4 inches to make it more difficult to catch smaller scallops.

Research shows the new gear will catch large scallops more efficiently, reducing the amount of time the gear is disturbing the ocean's bottom, which is an environmental benefit, said Andrew Applegate, the council's scallop plan coordinator.

Frank McLaughlin, who runs a Newport News packing company with 23 scallop boats, said the gear change should not be that big a deal.

"With the size of the scallop we're working on right now, I don't think it will hurt," he said.

The council used to give scallopers 120 days to fish anywhere outside of the closed areas. It voted to reduce the open-area fishing days to 42, and designate 84 additional days for controlled access areas -- for a total of 126 days.

McLaughlin said the changes would affect his business, but not bring it under.

"Our production is going to be down," McLaughlin said. "If we get less scallops, they will be more expensive."

Reducing fishing now should improve the number of scallops in the years ahead.

"Scallops have rebounded tremendously in the past," he said. "There's more seed out there than we've ever seen."

- Dave Schleck can be reached at 247-7430 or by e-mail at dschleck@dailypress.com